Joan “Nani” Roma wins 2014 Dakar Rally with MINI ALL4 Racing

Joan Roma of Monster Energy X-raid Team emerged as the victor of the 2014 Dakar Rally. Driving a yellow MINI ALL4 Racing, Roma finished the race just 5:32 minutes ahead of teammate Stéphane Peterhansel, who is piloting a black MINI ALL4 Racing. Coming in at third is Nasser Al-Attiyah driving a white MINI ALL4 Racing.

Roma has been leading the overall classification at 2014 Dakar Rally and has secured two stages. The 2014 Dakar Rally was essentially an all-MINI podium finish, proving the cars’ worth as not only fast but also reliable. It was Roma’s first Dakar Rally win in a car; after winning it on a motorbike in North Africa in 2004. "It was my big goal to win the Dakar not only on a motorbike but also in a car,” Roma remarked.

"The MINI ALL4 Racing is a brilliant car and was extremely reliable and quick throughout the whole rally,” Roman said, thanking co-driver Michel Périn for being a great navigator.

The 2014 Dakar Rally is considered as one of the toughest of all time. Spanning from Rosario, Argentina, to the Andes, to the Atacama desert to Valparaíso, Columbia, the 2014 Dakar Rally covers 9,374 km.

Not only that, the drivers had to experience a lot of different weather conditions, terrain and ground types. MINI conquered all the challenges and secured 11 of the 13 stages.

The 2014 Dakar rally win is MINI’s third straight since making its debut in 2011.The reliability of the MINI ALL4 Racing – derived from the MINI John Cooper Works Countryman -- underscored all 11 cars that participated in the event.

Not only that, seven of them finished in the Top 10, including Monster Energy X-raid Team’s Orlando Terranova/Paulo Fiúza (5th overall) and Krzysztof Holowczyc/Konstantin Zhiltsov (6th overall). [source: MINI]